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<title>In Which Sophie Bewitches a Pumpkin by bobblemonkey2</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27135880">In Which Sophie Bewitches a Pumpkin</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobblemonkey2/pseuds/bobblemonkey2'>bobblemonkey2</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Howl Series - Diana Wynne Jones, Howl no Ugoku Shiro | Howl's Moving Castle, Howl's Moving Castle - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Autumnal, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Halloween, Humor, Humour, One Shot, Seasonal, fall - Freeform, gourd vibes, pumpkin antics</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:22:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>737</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27135880</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobblemonkey2/pseuds/bobblemonkey2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>As the Harvest festival approaches, Sophie can’t understand why her pumpkins have not grown - so she attempts to persuade them through magical means.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sophie Hatter/Howl Pendragon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>In Which Sophie Bewitches a Pumpkin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>All characters belong to DWJ. After HMC before CITA. Just a little autumnal story because I can’t think of anything else to write.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>‘This is impossible!’ Sophie shouted one autumnal afternoon. She was tending to the small garden she had planted in the castle’s yard (well, at least the part that wasn’t taken up by all of Howl’s pointless pots and spell paraphernalia), but it just wasn’t being cooperative. ‘You stupid empty garden! Why I ought to-‘</p><p>‘What has that patch of dirt done to deserve such a stern verbal beat down?’ Howl said as he emerged onto the patio to see what all of the fuss was about.</p><p>‘The blasted pumpkins I planted two months ago haven’t grown above an inch! What am I supposed to take to the harvest festival on Saturday?’ She threw her gardening-glove-clad hands up into the air before letting out another angry expulsion of breath.</p><p>‘Cariad, if I’m not mistaken, last time I checked you had the ability to speak life into anything - surely that should come in handy?’ Howl suggested.</p><p>‘Don’t you think I’ve tried that?’ She snarled. ‘If you’d ever come out into the garden to clean up your mess maybe you’d have heard my tireless efforts over the last few weeks, but no, you’re too important to pick up after yourself!’ </p><p>Howl suddenly remembered why he so rarely ventured outside, but it was too late to backtrack now - he’d awoken the beast. ‘I’ve told you time and time again, I like my garden this way - everything is perfectly organise-‘ a loud clang cut off his sentence, as a pile of pots against the shed began to tumble. Howl wondered if Sophie had told the pot to move on purpose to drive home her point. ‘That was meant to happen,’ he cringed.</p><p>‘Urgh! Will you just help me you silly wizard!’ Sophie exclaimed. She never asked for help so this was a surprise to both of them.</p><p>‘My pleasure, cariad. What exactly have you been saying to these stunted squashes?’</p><p>‘I’ve been telling them everyday to grow in time for the harvest festival, I don’t know why it hasn’t worked,’ she put her head in her hands.</p><p>‘Hmm,’ Howl muttered as he inspected the tiny shoots. ‘Did you specify the date of the festival?’</p><p>‘No of course not, why would they need to know that?’</p><p>‘Pumpkins are sticklers for time-keeping, my dear - these poor gourds are probably holding out for next year’s harvest festival or maybe the year after that!’ He tutted. ‘How were they to know you meant the upcoming festival?’</p><p>‘They’re only bloody pumpkins! No one told me I’d have to give them a calendar!’ Sophie huffed. ‘What am I supposed to do now?’</p><p>‘I could always conjure us some pumpkins?’ Howl suggested.</p><p>‘And steal them away from someone in Market Chipping who grew them fair and square? You really are evil!’ Sophie growled.</p><p>‘Well cariad, you leave me with no other option,’ reasoned the wizard.</p><p>‘Urgh! Why won’t you just GROW!’ She screamed at the shoots - and suddenly they started growing, bigger and bigger by the second, with the shoots bursting into tiny round squashes, and then into much larger ones.</p><p>‘Sophie...’ Howl warned, but his warnings fell on deaf ears as Sophie was now running around the garden shouting her joy at the ever-expanding pumpkins. They grew larger than the wheelbarrow, and then exceeded the size of the hydrangea bushes, then the shed, until they threatened to consume the whole castle. ‘Sophie stop them!’ Howl shouted.</p><p>‘Stop growing!’ She exclaimed, but they continued, eventually merging into one giant pumpkin hybrid so as to maximise their surface area. ‘Stop it!’ She shouted again to no avail. Neighbours began pouring out of their houses to see the giant gourd in full view; old ladies shrieked at the size of it; children laughed at the huge orange ball looming over Market Chipping higher and higher, and everyone wondered when it would stop.</p><p>‘Oh for goodness sake’s will you just get back in the ground!’ Sophie boomed at it, so loud that even Howl jumped. She hadn’t been this angry since the weed killer incident, and the pumpkin seemed to be scared of the consequences. Quickly, it shrank in size making its way back down to the garden patch, until once again there were only short shoots in the ground to prove its existence. </p><p>‘I give up!’ Sophie wailed.</p><p>‘Don’t worry, cariad,’ Howl said in stunned disbelief as he wrapped his arms around her. ‘I’m sure they’ll grow in their own time.’</p>
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